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Governor O'Malley Calls Maryland Citizens to Action for the Bay

Discusses Tipping Point Strategy with Scientists on Tour of Bush River

Hartford County, MD - On the eve of the 26th Chesapeake Executive
Council Meeting, Governor Martin O’Malley and senior advisors toured the Bush
River aboard the R.V. Rachel Carson to discuss two new strategies to accelerate
Bay restoration in Maryland. Citing what scientists call a “tipping point” — a
stage at which progress within a tributary can begin to promote self-healing —
the Governor announced plans for a major new outreach effort to enlist local
governments, businesses and citizens to take a more active role in restoring the
health of Maryland’s waterways.

“For Marylanders, the Bay is not something we drive over on our way to the
ocean,” said the Governor. “The Bay is alive in the creeks, streams and rivers
that run through our neighborhoods and our open spaces. The Bay puts crabs and
oysters on our tables and brings tourism dollars into our State’s economy. All
Maryland families — even those who do not live within the watershed — benefit
from what the Chesapeake brings to our great State.”

At tomorrow’s Executive Council meeting, Governor O’Malley will announce
Maryland’s new 2-year milestones, short term goals developed over the past
several months by the Governor and his BayStat team to better target, focus and
accelerate efforts on the ground, and measure results.

“We have spent too much time focusing on missed long term goals, bad report
cards, and lack of resources,” the Governor continued. “Now is the time to hold
ourselves accountable for what we can each do, while on this planet, to make a
difference.”

“The programming changes called for under these new milestones will not only
create a new level of accountability and new sense of urgency, they will greatly
accelerate our ability to achieve a new Bay-wide nutrient reduction
implementation end date,” added DNR Secretary John Griffin.

The tipping point theory the group discussed today reinforces the need for
targeting resources and efforts in individual tributaries or sub-watersheds,
where they can have the greatest impact and jump start recovery in these smaller
systems.

According to the 2008 Chesapeake Bay Habitat Health Report Card recently issued
by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences (UMCES), in some
cases tributaries adjacent to one another are demonstrating different, diverging
trends.

“It seems that some river systems may have reached a tipping point, where
self-reinforcing elements within the ecosystem are working to maintain either
positive or negative trends,” explained Don Boesch, President of UMCES. “An
increase in underwater bay grasses can promote the growth of more bay grasses,
improving water clarity, increasing oxygen levels and providing better habitat
for fish and crabs.”

For example, while the Bush River in the Upper Western Bay is seeing signs of
improvement, the adjacent Upper Eastern Shore tributaries – such as the
Sassafras -- are continuing to degrade. Scientists are still developing more
precise information on the actual nutrient loadings that constitute a tipping
point for a specific river system, however, they believe it can propel
large-scale changes.

Through BayStat, the O’Malley-Brown Administration has already made significant
changes in how Maryland tracks, targets and funds Bay restoration programs —
placing new emphasis on best management practices that are most cost effective,
and geographically targeting programs to generate the greatest benefit.

To enlist every Maryland citizen in the charge to create a smarter, greener more
sustainable future for the State and the Bay, Governor O’Malley has tasked his
BayStat team with developing a grass roots action plan to include: expanded
roles for Maryland’s Tributary Team and Soil Conservation Districts; heightened
engagement by county and municipal leaders in implementing the State’s tributary
strategies; and a citizens’ call to undertake specific actions that will
contribute to local restoration.

“Just as the Bay’s problems are man made, so too are their solutions,” said
Governor O’Malley. “Working together as One Maryland, getting our hands dirty
and our boots wet, we can realize a restored Chesapeake Bay that we will be
proud to leave as a legacy to our children.”

Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and
living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 449,000 acres of public lands and
17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic
and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and
cultural resources attract 12 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the
Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov